Wooden barrel or drum for churns



April 28, 1931. Q'CQNNELL ET AL I 1,803,127

WOODEN BARREL 0R DRUM FOR CHURNS Filed Nov. 29. 1929 dfimp Warm, l7 lid/vi? Patented Apr. 28, 1931 ire-st TES JOSEPH OCONNELL nn HAROLD HAMILroNarEna} or KENsInG'ronIv-wronm, AUSTRALIA 1 WOODEN BARR-EL 0R DRUM GHUBNS" Application filed November 29, 1929, Serial No. 410,449, andin Australia January 22, 1929. i

This invention has been devised to provide an improved wooden barrel or drum for churns employed in the manufacture of butter and treatment of cream. With theipresent construction of wooden churns the memcontraction takes place so that the heads will retain a predetermined shape and; will not become distorted by usage asis usual when. the barrel is formed otherwise than accord in g. to our invention.

In describing our invention we shall refer to it as embodied in the barrel or drum of a rotary churn.

In order to more readily understand the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which V Figure 1 is an end view showing the constructi on of a churn barrel in accordance with our invention. I

Figure 2 shows in detail how the staves are joined with a head end of the barrel. 2

Figure 3 shows a detail of the radial members or sectors formingthe heads of the barrel and how each member is joined to the next and I Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of alternative jointings of radial members.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the radial members forming the subject of our invention. 7

The wooden members 5 comprising the end walls or heads 6 of the barrel or drum of the churn are oblong sectors disposed radially (see Figure 1) and each memberb tapers toward the center of the barrel or drum, i. e., they are Wider at the ends 7 than the ends 8, and each member is preferably provided with a tongue 9 on one longitudinal edge, and a groove 10 in the opposite longitudinal edge, said tongue and groove being of any desired shape, either a wedge-shaped tongue and groove as in Figures 4 and 5, or

a rectangular tongue a-ndgroove, as'in Figure 3. The abutting edges of the members 5 radiate fronrthe centersof the heads, and the connecting joints of the members comprise the tongue of one member fitting into the groove of the next and abutting member.

- It will be seen that the tongues and grooves interlock each 1neinber5 "with the next, in such manner as to prevent both inward and outwarddisplacement-or bulging of any grain of the wood fromfwhich the oblong members 5 are made, extends lengthwise, and not crosswiseoi' said members, so that expansion o1 the members 5-,.caused by absorption of moisture. is mainlycrosswise of said members and causes a uniformtightening of:

the joints formed by the abutting'edges of the members. The described proportions of the members 5 enables the members with the grainextendinglengthwise, to be prepared with aminimum of waste byfdiago'nally sawingfarelatively wide boardto convert it into two members 5. I

In some case the described tightening may be sufficient'to prevent both inward and outprising the cylindrical body of the barrel or drum.

Each of the stave members 12, has, near" each end,-a groove 11 which receives end tongues 13 on the wider ends of the radial members 5, so'that when said radial '1nem-' bers are in position to form a disk, and the stave members 12 are assembled on and'se- 1 cured to the periphery of the disk, the whole structure becomes rigid as will be obvious.

, The longitudinal expanslbility of the mem- I of the radially disposed members 5 fit into an internalgroove or chan-i, nel 11 formed in the stave members 12 com- 7 ward displacement of bulging of any member bers 5, although less than the crosswise expansion, is suffieient to tighten the joint formed by the end tongues 13 and the grooves 11. The forces of expansion are so distributed throughout the head, that any expansion is general and not local.

The inner ends 8 of the members 5 collectively form a circular opening,z adapted to receive a disk or bearing (not shown), supporting a stub axle of the actuating mechanism.

e claim:

1. A churn barrel comprising a cylindrical body, and discoidal heads, each composed of tapered oblong sectors, whose longitudinal edges abut each other and radiate from the center of the head, the wider outer ends of the sectors being interlocked with an end portion or" the body, and the abutting edges tongued and grooved, so that each sector is interlocked with the next to prevent both inward and outwardsidewise displacement of the'sector and maintain the sides of the head in predetermined planes.

2. A churn barrel comprising a cylindrical body, and discoidal heads, each'composed of tapered oblong woodensectors whose longitudinal edges abut each other and radiate from the center of the head, the wider outer ends of the sectors beinginterlocked withan end portion of the body, the sectors being proportioned so that their length is much greater than the Width of their outer ends, the grain of thewood extending lengthwise of the sectors so that expansion of the sectors, caused by absorption'of moisture, is mainly crosswise of the sectors and causes a uniform tightening of the joints formed by the abutting edges.

In testimony whereof We have afiixed our signatures to thisspecification.

JOSEPH OCONNELL. I HAROLD HAMILTON KERR. 

